IV Rattus Norvegicus
The Stranglers
United Artists UAG 30045
Here come The Stranglers with 40 minutes of brain-rapingly original spewings like you ain't gonna hear anywhere else.
They've come a long way since I first saw them supporting Patti Smith a year ago. All that untamed potential has been refined and channelled into yet another of the year's great debut albums… and what a great year for debut albums!
Melody Maker’s Mike Oldfart says the Strangs have got nothing to offer… he must have the hearing capacity of a cat’s willy. The Stranglers also sometimes come in for a bit of stick from the other new groups who say they're not new, etc. I don't know about that and I don't care… neither should you.
The Stranglers make vibrant inventive music which I like a lot (and so do a lot of other people judging by the numbers turned away from their recent Roundhouse gig). What I'm trying to say is, don't listen to anything or anyone except your own ears (and The Stranglers album).
It's hard to describe this erent ,and some of the melodies tear the top of my head and light the blue touch paper on my brain cells. I've heard that about The Stranglers sounding like The Doors, The Velvets etc., and there's no disputing the influences, and Dave Greenfield's magic organ is primed to soar off into regions only previously charted by Manzarek.
Take ‘Princess Of The Streets’, for example, which perfectly evokes The Doors’ desolate, sleazy romanticism. The Doors are cited because I suppose that they’re the nearest thing but it's still The Stranglers all round. THE STRANGLERS!
There are some sinister influences at work here. Psychedelic embroidery, like on ‘Ugly’ which takes a menacing spiral riff and some NAAASTY vocals all about being UGLY. Look… The Stranglers may have consumed these influences but When they’re spewed out it's the contents of The Stranglers own unique stomach that comes out.
This album is a sinister, scary ride through unknown dark sewers, culminating in the climatic ‘Down In The Sewer’ itself, my favourite track. It epitomises the sound of The Strangs…Jean Jacques Burnel's piercing, grating bass clanking about over Jet Black’s GBH drumming, while Dave Greenfield soars and sears. Meanwhile Hugh Cornwell hacks rusty chords or squeezes out his highly melodic solos from his guitar, which I'm sure has the power to pop spots at fifty paces.
While the group cruise on their creepo riffs as effortlessly as a turd on course for the sewage plant, Hugh or Jean Jacques belt out the words, which are incisive, rasping comments on the sorry state of the human being or psychedelic horror-slanted stories.
At the moment I like the opener ‘Sometimes’, with its propulsive catchiness; ‘Hanging Around’ and its stunning guitar solo; ‘Goodbye Toulouse’, whose vocals remind me of ‘West Side Story’ at 100 mph; and ‘Peaches’ the sleazy tale of beach vouyer.
Both sides of the single are on here too – (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) which is fuckin’ murder to type and ‘London Lady’.
The first 10,000 copies had a free single – a live version of Dave Greenfield's rancid ‘Peasant In The Big Shitty’ and Choosy Susie’, which is OK. I would like to have seen Hugh Cornwell's masto-stage-spew classic ‘School ma'am’ somewhere on this package, but never mind. This’ll do.
KRIS NEEDS
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